The Legend of Zelda: Birth of Evil's Bane
by Twilight Barber
Summary: Everyone knows about the Master Sword. But nobody knows anything about it. Why is it here? Where did it come from? Inspired by the newly released concept art.
1. Chapter 1: A Day of Surprises

**Author's Note: Greetings and welcome to my second story: The Legend of Zelda: Birth of Evil's Bane. The inspiration for this story came from the concept art that was released for the new Zelda Wii game that I'm sure all of you have heard. Anyway allow me to give some background for this story. It takes place in the same Hyrule as Ocarina of Time, however it is not a prequel, it's its own seperate story. It takes place about 100 years before Ocarina of Time. For anyone wondering when War of Realms will be updated, don't worry it will be updated within the week.**

The Legend of Zelda: Birth of Evil's Bane

Chapter 1: A Day of Surprises

The sun rose over Hyrule bringing with it the dawn of a new day. Its rays slowly crept through the windows of the room of a boy and ran across his face, awakening him. The boy opened his eyes and let out a sigh, it was time to get up and start the day. He took his time getting out of bed as he still wanted to sleep. The boy stretched his arms above his head and walked over to his open window. Looking out into the depths of the town the boy could not help but notice what a beautiful day it was today. There was not a cloud in the bright blue sky to be seen so there was no reason to believe that rain would be any problem today. The sun had risen up directly behind the castle to the west of the boy's house creating a dazzling effect of bright light mixed with shadows that made the castle and all its grounds look almost dream-like.

"It's days like this where I wish I didn't have to work," Link sighed as he felt a breath of wind blow against his face that felt cool and refreshing, only strengthening Link's desire not go to work.

However there was no choice in the matter, Link had to go to work. At 18 years of age, Link needed money to make a living. After all, food, drink and supplies don't pay for themselves. This was the harsh truth that Link had faced when he purchased his own place; he was all alone and had to live on his own. He had been living in this house for a couple of months now and was still getting used to being on his own. His mother had died shortly after giving birth to him so he was brought up mostly by his father. Shortly after he bought this house his father died as well, leaving him with no family in this world. Sometimes Link stayed up at night thinking about the man who single-handedly raised him as a child and taught him everything he knew about everything. The funeral was a few weeks ago and Link could still picture every detail about it in his head. From looking at his father's body in the coffin to listening to people he knew talk about him to staying behind after everybody had left and crying at his grave, it was a very sad day indeed.

Link didn't have time to keep up his reflecting as he still had to get to his job. Shortly after Link had moved into this house along the streets of Castle Town, he had gotten a job at the Happy Mask Shop. The job paid pretty well and there was not a lot of work to be done. Most of the time, Link was just asked to deliver masks for people or pick up shipments of masks that came in. Inbetween these tasks, he was free to roam around the town, as long as he came back when his boss needed him. Also the Happy Mask Salesman was a pretty entertaining guy to be around so Link enjoyed being in his company.

Link moved away from the window and walked over to his closet to pull out his clothes. The clothes he normally wore consisted of a green tunic and cap, a white long sleeve undershirt, a chainmail to go over the undershirt, brown gloves that extended down across his forearm that had holes for his fingers to slip through, pale-whitish pants and brown boots. Once Link was fully clothed, he walked across his mostly stone room to the other side where there were steps leading down to the first floor of the house. This part of the house consisted of a couch, a table and the kitchen. Link bypassed these objects and headed for the door.

When Link arrived outside, he was met with a gentle breeze, bright sunlight and a very reasonable temperature. Link groaned inside and started the trek to the Happy Mask Shop. The house Link lived in was on the very edge of the town in back of everything. It was along a road that extended for about two blocks. There were paths to the town square on the left and right side. With Link's house being closer to the right side path, Link started walking in that direction. No sooner had he began walking when he was stopped by a familiar voice.

"Hey Link, wait up!" called the voice. Turning around Link saw that it was his friend Recht. Link had met Recht when the two of them were still in school. He was also saving up money for his own place but for now, he lived with his parents. Recht was about the same height as Link with short brown hair in contrast with Link's long blond hair that went down past his ears. In stark contrast with Link's bright blue eyes, Recht's eyes were a dark chocolate brown color. He was much tanner than Link however did not have the muscle that Link did. The two of them together were about as different as two people could be.

"Off to work in the morning buddy? Why don't you let me tag along with you as I'm going the same way?" asked Recht. Recht had a job helping to run the town shooting gallery. Now that the both of them had jobs, they didn't see each other as much as they would have liked but they still saw each other almost everyday, if only for a few minutes before the two of them went to their respective jobs.

"Sure. Being with a friend always makes the walk more enjoyable. I normally just look at the scenery," answered Link. The two of them started walking at a leisurely pace, neither one of them in a big hurry to work just yet.

"So Link did you submit your name for Knight training yet?" asked Recht.

"Are you kidding? That was the first thing I did yesterday," answered Link enthusiastically. Yesterday had been the first day that townsfolk had been allowed to sign up for Knight training. Every year, the Hyrulean Army had knight training. The people of Castle Town are allowed to enroll into a three month camp to see who among them were cut out to be a knight. The army only took about five or six people a year so it was very competitive. Although Link was content with his job at the Happy Mask Shop, it was his dream to become a knight. He had held this dream ever since he was a kid. The thought of adventure had always excited him and he couldn't wait to put his skills to the test. The only catch was that you had to be 18 to join. Link had missed the cutoff by about three weeks so he wasn't allowed to join. However now that he was 18, he was finally eligible. Link had wanted to practice training with a sword and shield however it turns out that only knights are allowed to purchase swords and shields from the shop. This made Link want to become a knight even more.

"Well good luck, I'll be pulling for you," said Recht as the two of them rounded the corner and headed into Castle Town Square. The square consisted of buildings on either side of a fountain that was in the very middle of the stone road. There were people walking around going about their business as always as well as people with outdoor shops hoping to make a sale.

"Well this is where we part I guess. The shooting gallery is straight ahead and I know that the Happy Mask Shop is towards the path that leads to Hyrule Castle," said Recht. Link said his good-bye to Recht and continued walking towards the Happy Mask Shop. After a short walk across the middle of the square, Link was in front of the shop. The Happy Mask Shop was a one story building with no windows that was painted yellow with a picture of a happy person face with the message "Happy Mask Shop: Spreading Joy Through Masks". Link walked to the door and opened it.

He was greeted with the familiar setting of the Happy Mask Shop. The walls were a wooden brown color and they were lined with shelves upon shelves of masks. Each mask was different, there was the Keaton Mask which looked like a yellow mouse, there was the Skull Mask which looked like a black skull with red eyes and there was the Stone Mask which looked like a badly carven rock face and these were only three examples of the variety of masks that could be found in the shop. These masks all had special abilities which attracted many people to purchase them. For example the Stone Mask made the user invisible to all. The Bremen Mask allowed the user to have animals follow them as if in a parade.

At the far end of the room was the counter where everyone paid for the masks. Behind it stood the Happy Mask Salesman. He was a short old man with thick glasses that he wore along his nose. He had gray hair and was bald at the top of his head. He was rather hard of hearing sometimes which forced Link to yell at him for him to be heard from time to time. Strangely, he had never found out the man's name and he had been working for him for about two months. The man had a strange obsession for masks which had caused him to open up the shop. He seemed to think that everyone shared his love of masks. As it turns out, there is a reasonable market for masks in the town so the shop never was slow on business. When Link opened the door, the man looked up and smiled.

"Ah, Link. Come in, I have a delivery for you," greeted the man. Link closed the door behind him and walked towards the desk.

"These masks just came in to be delivered. Take these to the shooting gallery and deliver them to a Mr. Kasaki," ordered the man. Link nodded and took the masks and examined which ones they were. They were the Bomb Mask, Bunny Hood and All Night Mask. Link kept them in his right hand and exited the shop. When he was back in Castle Town Square, Link took a left and walked past the two shops to where the shooting gallery was. Link was happy that he was heading there as he could talk to Recht. When he reached the shooting gallery he stopped to look at the shop. The shop was about the same size as the Happy Mask Shop. It was made of stone that was painted purple and had a sign that said "Shooting Gallery; Try Your Luck with Arrows!" Link opened the door and saw that Recht was talking to a man that he assumed was Mr. Kasaki. He was a tall, thin man that had a goatee and his long black hair was tied back into a ponytail. They were standing in front of the shooting gallery which consisted of wooden cuccos which moved across a conveyor belt. A bow and arrows lay next to the conveyor belt being held up by the wall. Recht and Mr. Kasaki halted their conversation and looked over towards Link as he walked in carrying the masks. Link smiled at Recht as he walked over to Mr. Kasaki and Recht smiled back.

"Are you Mr. Kasaki?" asked Link.

"Yes I am. What can I do for you today?" answered Mr. Kasaki.

"I work at the Happy Mask Shop. I have your ordered Bomb Mask, All Night Mask and Bunny Hood," said Link holding out the masks. Mr. Kasaki looked at Link with more focus and smiled.

"Ah so you do. Could you place them on the desk next to the conveyor belt?" asked Mr. Kasaki.

"Certainly," answered Link and he carried the masks all over to the desk. He put them on the desk as he was told and turned to leave. He made it to the door when Mr. Kasaki called him back.

"Hold on a minute. Let me give you a tip," said Mr. Kasaki. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a silver rupee. He then placed it in Link's hands. Link looked wide-eyed at the treasure, almost shaking his head in disbelief.

"Th-Thank you sir!" mumbled a very grateful Link.

"Don't mention it. Recht here has mentioned how hard you work at that Happy Mask Shop and I thought that you could use a reward. I bet that old coot that owns the place barely pays you enough anyway. Now let me put these in the other room," said Mr. Kasaki. He walked away from Recht and Link to put the masks away in his back room. Link, still in awe at the rupee, quickly stashed it in his pocket as if afraid it would vanish if he held onto it for too long. He then looked at Recht. He was in just as much shock as Link was.

"Did he really just give you a silver rupee as a tip?" asked Recht incredulously. Link nodded his head. "Wow, I wish he'd give me a silver rupee."

"Well, I have to go. Otherwise my boss will wonder where I've been," said Link trying to recover from the shock. Recht said good-bye and Link left the shooting gallery. He then headed back to the Happy Mask Shop. He still needed his pay from his boss. Maybe he'd get lucky and his boss would give him a raise too? No, he mustn't get greedy. He opened up the door to the shop and went towards the counter. His boss looked to be deep in thought so Link had to get his attention.

"Um, boss? I delivered the masks that you made me deliver," said Link trying to get his attention. His boss came out of his reverie and looked at Link.

"Oh it's you Link. You say you delivered my masks? Good job. Here's your pay," said Link's boss as he reached into his pocket. He pulled out three purple rupees and gave them to Link. Link who had just gotten over the shock of being given a silver rupee went back into shock at the sight of those purple rupees. Normally his pay was twenty rupees for every mask that he sold. This was a pleasant surprise.

"B-Boss? You've given me three purple rupees. I normally only get red rupees," said Link. He didn't want to do it but he felt he must.

"It appears I did. Keep them anyway, you could use them," said Link's boss with a neutral expression.

"Thank you sir," said Link as he bowed.

"Don't mention it. You know Link, you've done a great job around here. So I think it's time I let you look at my most precious possession. It's a mask that's one of a kind," said Link's boss. He then hid behind the counter and emerged from it holding a black box. He then walked out from behind the counter right in front of Link. When he got to Link, he opened the box. What Link saw was the weirdest mask he had ever seen. It was in the shape of a heart with two yellow spikes on its top and eight spikes on its bottom. There were two bright red and yellow eyes with green pupils. It had lots of strange purple and red markings all over it the most notable being triangle-like shapes that were above the eyes. It made Link uncomfortable just from looking at it.

"It's called Majora's Mask. It's a mask that was worshiped by an ancient tribe. I don't know anything about the tribe but they're long gone now. Supposedly it is the remains of a deity named Majora. I found this mask dug in the ground while exploring the desert to the east. I wanted to see if the rumors were true," explained Link's boss.

"What rumors?" asked an interested Link.

"The rumors about what happens to people who wander into the desert unarmed. People say that they never come back. It's spooky so I decided to check it out. Nothing happened to me; however that might be because I didn't go in that far. Also this mask took my attention away. I learned about it by asking traveling merchants about it and they told me what they knew."

"It sure is an interesting mask," commented Link.

"Why don't you try it on?" asked Link's boss. Link wasn't sure but he figured that he should do what his boss says. He took the mask out of the box and put it on.

Instantaneously, the Mask stuck to Link's face. Almost at once he heard a voice that sounded like a rattle-snake say "You're now my slave. Kill the man. Kill the man. KILL THE MAN!" The voice that said this was the most evil voice that Link had ever heard. In tune with the mask's wishes, Link all of a sudden had an intense desire to kill the man standing in front of him. He started walking towards the man when he fell to his knees. He had to fight this mask. The mask made a wailing sound that Link couldn't bear. It was trying to gain control over Link and it was draining all of his energy from his body. He tried to tug the mask off of his face but it wouldn't budge. Link could tell that if he didn't get the mask off soon, he never would. Using every ounce of strength he had left, he gave one last mighty tug and the mask came off. In the instant before he got the mask off he heard the voice laughing the most evil laugh he could imagine. Link dropped the mask to the ground and backed away from it, still on his knees.

"What happened?" asked Link's boss, his face full of concern. Link apparently was the only one who heard the voice. His boss was looking at the mask which was now motionless as if nothing had ever happened.

"You have to get rid of that mask. It's evil. Please promise me you'll get rid of that mask. If you don't, I quit," said Link who was panting, gasping for breath.

"Ok, ok. You have my word," answered a clearly shell-shocked Link's boss. He scooped the mask off the floor and put it back in the box. "I'll get rid of it tonight. You look shaken. Why don't you take the rest of the day off?"

"Thank you sir," said Link, trying to regain his composure. He rose to his feet. After a couple of minutes standing in the same spot and breathing heavily with his eyes closed, Link felt calm and walked out the door after saying good-bye to his boss.

Link had exited the store when he laid eyes on a girl that was sitting by the fountain in the middle of the town square. She had brown hair and shining blue eyes. She wore a golden diadem atop her head complete with a sapphire in the middle. Her dress was white with a purple bodice at the top. On her dress was the Royal Family symbol with a golden scale of sorts above it. She wore golden shoulder plates and white gloves that extended all the way past her elbows to where the shoulder plates were, leaving no skin to be observed. It was Princess Zelda, the King of Hyrule's daughter.

Suddenly Link didn't feel tired anymore but he started to get a little nervous. He'd had a crush on Princess Zelda for a while and he got always got a little nervous when he was around her. He thought that she was the most beautiful girl that he'd ever seen. However Link knew that he had no chance with her. She was royalty and he was a simple boy with a simple salesman job. The two of them didn't really know each other that well either. Zelda knew who Link was and she said hi whenever she saw him but he really wouldn't consider them friends. They were more like acquaintances.

Link held in his breath and walked over to where Zelda was sitting. She looked so peaceful that he thought it would be a crime to disturb her but he didn't mind being a criminal right now. Once he was next to her he took a deep but inaudible breath and with his heart beating a mile a minute, made the first move.

"Hello Princess Zelda. What brings you here to castle town square?" asked Link. Zelda turned around and looked at him. She then smiled a smile that almost made Link's knees give way.

"Link, how many times do I have to tell you? You don't have to call me Princess Zelda. Just Zelda is fine," said Zelda gently.

"Sorry," Link muttered blushing.

"It's ok. Don't feel upset, everybody calls me Princess Zelda. Anyway I thought that I'd come here to relax by the fountain because the water makes me feel calm," answered Zelda.

"Oh. I'm sorry I disturbed your peace," said Link, hanging his head a little bit. He was doing a lot more apologizing than he had planned.

"Don't be. It's always nice to talk to a familiar face. Anyway, I have to get going. Father's arranged a royal lunch and he'll be upset if I'm late. Bye Link," said Zelda. She got up and walked a few steps then stopped and turned around.

"Link, you know that tomorrow is the annual knighting of the knights? It's when the knights who survived Knight Camp officially become knights. You should come and watch," suggested Zelda.

"I'll be there," Link answered quickly. He didn't mention that he had been to every single knighting ceremony since he was twelve. Zelda smiled and then turned around and began her walk back to Hyrule Castle.

As Link started walking back to his house, he reflected on his feelings for Princess Zelda. He supposed that it started ever since he started watching the knighting ceremonies. The ceremonies took place on the lawn in front of the castle. The king would stand before the knights and with his sword would tap them on the head, thus making them official Hyrulean knights. Standing next to the king was his daughter, Zelda. She was the same age as Link and he had always thought that she was cute but it really wasn't until he was about fifteen where he really started liking her.

Link suddenly realized that he had a problem. He has to work tomorrow. He had never encountered this problem before as he never had a job during the knighting ceremonies.

"Oh well. Missing a day of work is worth it for getting another chance to see Zelda."


	2. Chapter 2: The Knighting Ceremony

**Author's Note: I tried to get this chapter in earlier but school (especially college applications) really got in the way. Oh well I still got it in as soon as I could. Please enjoy chapter 2 and feel free to post your thoughts good or bad in a review.**

Chapter 2: The Knighting Ceremony

Link was standing on a flat, grassy plain. A thick gray fog engulfed him and his surroundings, making it difficult to see anything that might be nearby. Looking in all directions the sightline was still the same, grass and lots of fog. Link didn't know what to do but he figured he should start walking until he found something. Taking careful steps and walking slowly, Link remained vigilant in case someone or something tried to sneak up on him. However there didn't appear to be anyone here, making these precautions unnecessary.

The emptiness of this place didn't ease Link's spirits. He couldn't help wondering why there was no one else here. The more he walked, the stronger his burning question became. Eventually more and more questions came flooding into his mind. Where was he? How did he get here? Why was the scenery exactly the same wherever he went? Why was there no one else here? Strangely, just as soon as this last question came to mind, Link spotted a shadowy figure about twenty feet in front of him.

The mysterious gray fog made the figure too hard to see from this distance so Link had no choice but to keep moving forward. As he got closer and closer to the figure, it became clearer and clearer. It looked to be a girl around Link's age that was sitting on the grass beneath him. Her back was turned to him but she had brown hair and a dress that seemed very familiar to him.

The girl sitting down on the grass was Princess Zelda. The sound of Link's footsteps crunching the grass made Zelda turn her head around. Seeing that it was Link who had found her, she got up and smiled at him. Instantaneously, the fog around them vanished and the grassy plain had bright sunlight beating down upon it.

"Link. I'm glad you're here. I was starting to get lonely and seeing a familiar face is so refreshing," said Zelda.

"Me too. I'm just glad I actually found someone in this weird place. Do you know where we are?" asked Link.

"No. Should we explore this place and maybe look for a way out?" asked Zelda. Link was more than happy to accompany her on a stroll through a grassy plain which suddenly was full of daisies. As they walked, Zelda suddenly grabbed Link's hand and held it. The two of them strolled leisurely though the plain when Zelda stopped short to look at something on the ground beside them.

"Hmm, I wonder what this is?" asked Zelda curiously. Link, who had been too busy scanning the area for paths of exit, turned to look at what Zelda had acquired.

Link's mouth dropped in horror as he noticed that what she had stumbled upon was Majora's Mask. He let go of Zelda's hand and backed away from it. Meanwhile Zelda picked it up with curiosity etched across her face.

"It looks like a mask," she said. She then made a movement as if to put it on.

"Zelda no! Don't put on that mask!" pleaded Link. He moved closer to Zelda to take it out of her hands but it was too late; Zelda had already put on the mask.

Link backed away terrified, not knowing what was going to happen next. The mask combined horribly with Zelda's figure. It destroyed the beauty and innocence that Zelda captured so perfectly and made her seem polluted. The mask single-handedly destroyed Zelda's appearance and gave off an evil air. The mask stuck to Zelda's face and she was unable to get it off, even with all her struggles. Zelda grabbed at the mask but after a few seconds, fell silent and still. Zelda then started walking slowly towards Link with her left arm extended as if she was trying to grab him.

Scared out of his senses, Link ran. Zelda started to run after him in full pursuit. Looking back, Link saw that he was not putting any distance in-between him and the possessed Zelda. Suddenly his foot landed on top of a rock and his legs got caught underneath him, sending him falling to the ground with a thud. He tried to get up as fast as possible but as soon as he was back on his feet, he felt a hand enclose around his throat and lift him up in the air. Zelda had grabbed him by the throat and was attempting to choke him. He grabbed Zelda's hand with both of his to try and loosen her grip but it was too tight. As Zelda was doing this, Link heard that evil sinister laugh that could belong only to the mask coming from Zelda's lips. He didn't have much longer, he couldn't breathe…

Link woke up from his nightmare sweating profusely with his heart pounding in his chest. He tried to calm himself down as he sat up grabbing his head in his palms. That dream had scared him half to death. Looking back, Link should have realized it was a dream in the first place. His emotions when around Princess Zelda were all wrong. There was no nervousness, excitement or giddiness that normally was present when he was around the Princess. Link had spent the majority of his time scanning the area when normally he would be too preoccupied with the fact that they were holding hands.

Link was still sweating and since he was wide awake, he decided to get out of bed and take a walk around the town to calm himself down. Putting on his boots, he walked over to his stairs and slowly climbed down them. He wanted his body to stop sweating so he took his time climbing down. When he reached the bottom of the stairs, he took a deep breath to regain control of himself. He then walked over to the door, opened it, and was outside Castle Town in the dead of night.

As Link started walking along the stone road in the moonlght, he started reflecting on his dream. It had started out an interesting dream, progressed into a great dream, and then came crashing down into a horrible nightmare once Majora's Mask made its appearance. Link felt cold just thinking about that mask, its evil nature frightening him very much. He didn't understand why the mask had this kind of effect on him. He wasn't one that got overly scared of anything but this mask terrified him just by thinking about it. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that he was temporarily possessed by the mask and that made him more susceptible to its evil. Or maybe it was the fact that this mask was so inexplicably evil that it just affected people more seriously than other scary things. Link didn't know which one it was but he hoped that he never had to see it again.

While lost in his own thoughts, Link discovered that he had wandered all the way over to the shooting gallery. He felt a lot calmer now that he was outside in the cool air and not cramped up in his room. He decided to head back to his house now so he turned around and started the trek back home. As he started walking home, he realized that the moon was very low in the sky, signaling that morning was almost upon the town. Link was disappointed as this meant that he wouldn't be able to sleep for very long.

When he got to his house, he saw that there was a person standing in front of it. Link clenched his fist and walked slowly towards the person. However as he got closer, he realized that it was just the postman. It seemed that the postman was getting a jumpstart on his early morning deliveries. What was even stranger was the fact that he was dropping off a letter in front of Link's house. Link never got mail so he wondered who could be sending him this letter.

The postman walked down the street to the right and out of Link's sight. Apparently there was no mail for anyone else on this block. Link walked towards his house and opened the door. He picked up the envelope that was on the ground on his floor, walked inside the room and tore it open. It was from Princess Zelda.

"Dear Link, You have been cordially invited by me to the post-knighting ceremonial feast. Everyone is invited but it is only with a special invitation that you can sit in the Royal Family section. Every year, six of these invitations are given out. Usually they're invited by my father but this year he gave me one and I didn't know who to invite so I invited you. Be there and be sure to say hello! Oh and be sure to bring this invitation with you. It's the only way to get into the Royal Family section.-Princess Zelda". Link read the letter with utter curiosity. Why was Zelda inviting him to the feast? And to sit in the Royal Family section no less? Link couldn't help but think that something fishy was going on here.

"But either way, I still get to have one of the best seats in the entire castle," Link thought out loud. He had been to the post-knighting feast once before and it was a wonderful experience. The castle was decorated with the most elegant designs with jewels and ribbons everywhere. There were live performances by guest entertainment all night. The food was cooked by the greatest chiefs in Hyrule. However last time Link was at the feast, he was at a very small table off in a corner. Now that he was in the Royal Family section, he'd be sitting by the throne with a view of everyone and everything inside the castle. He'd be the center of attention. Or part of it at least.

Now that he was in a good mood, Link decided that it was time to retire to bed. It was almost morning as it was but he figured that any extra sleep he could get would be worth it. He walked up the stairs in his kitchen and arrived in his bedroom. Walking over to his bed, he collapsed ontop of it. He was asleep before his head hit his pillow, not even bothering to bring the covers up over him.

Link had been asleep for about three hours when he was awoken by the sound of commotion outside his window. Startled, Link quickly got to his feet and looked outside to see what was going on. He saw dozens of people in the streets, all walking in the general direction of Hyrule Castle. Alarmed, Link quickly ran away from the window, opened his closet, threw on his green tunic, chainmail, gloves, pants, hat and boots and ran towards his set of stairs. He slid down the banister and jumped down onto the floor. He was about to turn his back on the wall in front of him and head for the door when he stopped. Staring him in the face was his father's shield that Link had hung up in his living room ever since his death.

The shield was in the shape of a rounded triangle with a flat top. There were no pointy sides at the top of the shield like in normal shields, this one was all rounded. The shield was completely round except for the top of it. The shield was a navy blue cover with a silver outline that stretched all around the rounded part of the shield. In the center of the shield was the symbol of Hyrule, the golden Triforce. The Triforce was three triangles arranged in such a way that they made one big triangle with a hole in the middle of the shape that looked like another triangle. Beneath the Triforce symbol was the other symbol of Hyrule, a crimson separated eagle. The different parts of the body were not connected to each other as they all stood out like they were floating in mid-air. It was easy to see that the shapes formed a bird however.

This shield had been in his father's possession ever since Link was born. One of his father's closest friends had been a knight of Hyrule. His father's friend had given it to him as a gift for his birthday many years ago. Link's father had wanted to be a knight but was never very good at it. So as a way of acknowledging this wish, Link's father's friend had given the shield to him so he could treasure it. Link's father had then given it to Link when he had moved out of the house. Link used to have it hang in his room, but he moved it down into the living room after his father's death because he didn't like the thought of the shield watching him while he slept.

Link walked over to the shield and took it off of the wall. He was going to wear it to the knighting ceremony today so that the people there would know that he was considering becoming a knight. It was tradition for future knight hopefuls to wear shields at the knighting ceremonies. That way the generals and lieutenants would know who was serious about pursuing this career because shields were not readily available to the public. Anyone who could get possession of a shield without buying one in a shop was serious in their eyes.

With the shield tied to his back, Link headed for the door. Once he reached the door he opened it and was met with a roar of people conversation. It appeared that lots of people were interested in the knighting ceremony. Link sighed; he had heard that this year's class of knights was going to be very good. It was only natural that the townsfolk would want to get a glimpse at this highly touted class. Link started jogging towards town, desperate to get a good spot on the lawn of Hyrule Castle. However he had one stop he had to make first.

When he was in Castle Town square, Link jogged across the stone to get to the Happy Mask Shop. He had to tell his boss that he was not going to work today. Once he reached the doors of the shop, he headed inside. What he found was that the shop was empty. His boss was not in his familiar spot behind the desk. Instead all that was left on the desk was a note. Link didn't want to read it but curiosity got the better of him so he headed towards the desk, knowing full well that he would pay for this later.

He walked over to the desk and took a look at the letter. It was addressed to him. "Dear Link, I have upheld your request for me to get rid of Majora's Mask. I have left today to dispose of the mask and will be back tomorrow. You are free to do whatever you want today but I expect you back tomorrow-Your Boss".

Link's heart leapt. He could go to the knighting ceremony and not feel guilty about doing it. Without thinking twice, Link ran to and out the door. He didn't stop running as he reached the town square and made a right for the route before the castle. When Link got on said route, he had two choices. He could continue to run down the path past the castle gate, or he could take the shortcut and climb up the ledge that led to the lawn. Both would take him to the same place but the former idea was the safer route while taking longer, whereas the latter was shorter but more dangerous. Link was all for something to get him to the lawn quicker so he headed towards the ledge. When he got to the ledge he started climbing as fast as he could. Sending much dirt to the ground, he climbed up the ledge in no time at all and was at the back of the lawn.

When Link saw how many people were here already, he took a breath of relief. Not that many people had showed up yet and he was still able to get a decent view. Link slowed to a walk and settled in behind a group of men that appeared to be in their thirties. They were apparently talking about what it used to be like when they were little. Link lost interest in their conversation and started looking at the castle.

They were standing on the lawn right before the bridge that crossed the moat. They were on a circular lawn that stood in front of the castle. Back behind the people where the path started, there was a huge hill with a gate connecting it to the lawn, allowing people to walk towards it. The castle itself was magnificent. It stood towering over everything with its many towers and windows. It was a silvery color and it had many colorful pictures that helped enhance the royal image of the castle.

"Was that you making all that noise by the cliff?" said a voice to Link's right. A man that looked to be in his early twenties was looking at Link with interest. He was about Link's height and he had thick black hair that was in the form of a spiky Mohawk. Except for the hair that was pointed straight up in the middle of his head, he was completely bald. He had deep blue eyes that were complemented with his thick black eyebrows. He had long pointy ears just like Link did. He had on a black turncoat that complimented his hair nicely. He wore silver baggy pants with black boots. Link didn't know what it was about this man but he seemed to have a very strong presence about him.

"Yeah that was me. I thought that there were more people here than there were and I wanted to get a good spot," Link said to the man.

"Well you tired yourself out for nothing I'm afraid. Not a lot of people are here yet. In fact, the bulk of the people are coming right now," said the man as he pointed towards the path before Castle Town.

"Yeah, I noticed that. I just figured that I might be late. I especially thought this when I had to stop off in my boss's shop. Anyway I'm Link who're you?" asked Link as he extended his hand.

"I'm Nascour. You sure seem to like these knighting ceremonies. All this hustle just to get to see it up close? Are you an aspiring knight?" asked Nascour as he laid eyes on Link's shield for the first time as he shook Link's hand.

"Yeah it's been my dream to be a knight ever since I was a kid. I've been practicing with this shield and I've even got in some training with a sword from my dad," answered Link enthusiastically.

"Hmm. Seems like you're quite the knight material. I'll have to watch out for you," said Nascour rubbing his chin with his hand. "I plan on becoming a lieutenant and you might be trouble for me."

"We'll see. I don't think I'm as great as you make me out to be," said Link. The two of them laughed and then their attention was driven towards a person who was running straight towards them. When he got close enough for Link and Nascour to make him out, Link noticed that it was Recht.

"Link. I'm glad I made it. I was hoping that I'd get to see you today but I worried that I might not be able to find you in this crowd of people," said Recht as he panted out of breath with his hands on his knees.

"Who is this?" asked Nascour with mild interest.

"This is Recht. He's my buddy," answered Link.

"Ah so you two are friends. How long have you known each other?" asked Nascour.

"We've know each other for about five years. We've been best buds ever since school," answered Recht.

"So Recht, are you also going to become a knight?" inquired Nascour.

"No. Link's the one with the athletic ability. I wouldn't be very good," said Recht humbly.

"That's twice now I've heard of your impressive swordsman skills Link. Are you sure you're just being modest?" joked Nascour with a smile on his face.

"I may be decent but I'm nowhere near the level of the knights that are getting knighted today. Speaking of them, I think that they're coming out now," said Link as he pointed towards the two castle doors. Indeed, the doors had been opened and the knight class had started to fill in two lines just in front of the lawn to the castle and on the dirt path that led to the two doors.

After the knights had made two equal lines, the King of Hyrule and Princess Zelda could be seen coming out of the doors. The King of Hyrule was a middle aged man with graying hair and a large beard and mustache. He wore a bright red coat with a plain white shirt underneath. He wore a huge black belt with a purple jewel in the center over tan pants. The boots he wore were brown and looked to be made out of wool. He was carrying a sword and a scroll, presumably with the names of the knights that were going to be knighted. Princess Zelda was wearing the same purple and white dress that she was wearing yesterday.

Princess Zelda and her father walked out in front of the knights. The king stood up and addressed the crowd.

"Greetings citizens of Hyrule! Today we are gathered here to celebrate another great class of Knights to be. These boys have worked hard to get where they are today and now their work has finally paid off. Today they become knights!" called the king as the crowd applauded loudly.

The king opened up his scroll and looked at the first name.

"Ralph Gonnera!" called the king. Ralph Gonnera walked forward in front of the king and kneeled.

"With the holy blade of Hyrule, I King Phineas Iglacerous Hyrule hereby make you an official Knight of the Hyrulean Army," pronounced the King. The king then tapped his sword on Ralphs head, making him an official Hyrulean Knight as he was greeted with thunderous applause. He then retreated back to his spot in the line and waited for his mates to get knighted.

"Next year at this time, that'll be me up there," Link said suddenly. Recht looked at him and smiled while Nascour looked at him with a frown on his face as if thinking.

The king repeated the action for about twelve different men. They all got knighted by the king's sword and went back into the row. Link noticed that this year's class was bigger than last year's and the year before's class. There seemed to be much more talent this year than previous years. Once the king was done with the knights, he rolled his scroll up and cleared his throat.

"Everyone that includes this year's Knighting Ceremony! You are now all invited to the Royal Feast that is tradition every year. So come on into the castle for food, fun and entertainment!" said the king as he and Princess Zelda turned around to go inside the castle. When he and Princess Zelda had gone into the castle, the newly knighted knights followed them, disappearing into the hallway as well. Finally the crowd started to murmur and head into the castle bringing up the rear. Recht turned to Nascour and Link.

"Shall we go in?" he asked.

"Definitely," answered Link.

"Absolutely," said Nascour. The three of them followed the crowd and were on their way into the castle for a feast they would never forget.


	3. Chapter 3: A Feast and a Dance

**Author's Note: I wanted to get this chapter out much earlier but a virus broke out on my computer, erasing everything that was saved on it. I was forced to start over and the chapter was set back a couple of weeks. Needless to say, I'll be saving everything I do on a flash drive from now on. Anyway, enjoy chapter 3! I certainly enjoyed writing it.**

Chapter 3: A Feast and a Dance

Link, Recht and Nascour walked through the open castle doors and were inside the magnificent Hyrule Castle. He had been in this castle twice before but he still had to look around at its impressive interior. The part of the castle that they were in now was the entrance hall. The entrance hall consisted of the circular room that they were standing in now and a hallway straight ahead that led to another circular room where several different rooms were. The walls of the castle were made out of gray stone, giving the castle a dark atmosphere. In the first circular room there were two staircases that hugged the wall and led up to the second floor of the castle and another hallway. Link hadn't been up there but he guessed, based on the shape of the castle, that it was a rectangular hallway with rooms on both sides.

One thing that he noticed however was that there were no guards standing at the top of the staircase. This was odd as the last two times Link had been in the castle, there were guards stationed at the entrance to the upstairs hallway. He felt conflicted, dare he go upstairs? He had wanted to see the room that housed the Four Sword for a long time and now was his chance. According to legend, the Four Sword contained a spell that sealed the powerful Minish wizard Vaati inside the sword. Vaati had tried to take over Hyrule with his magical powers granted to him by the Cap of Wishes. Hyrule, being a new kingdom at the time, was not prepared to take on such a threat and Vaati went virtually unopposed. However a boy by the name of Link stopped Vaati with the Four Sword and Vaati was then sealed inside it. It is said that the Four Sword is still hidden in one of the rooms of the castle.

"I'll catch you two later. I want to check something out first," Link said as he started heading towards the stairs.

"Ok, we'll wait for you in the ballroom then," Recht said as he and Nascour started walking towards the ballroom on the first floor.

Link turned around them and started walking stealthily up the stairs. He wanted to make sure that he made as little noise as possible, just in case any guards came along. He wanted his trip up the stairs and into the Four Sword room to be as smooth sailing as possible.

When Link got up the stairs, he reached a hallway that extended in both directions left and right. He quickly looked down each one and noticed that there were no guards there either. He paused to decide which one he intended to go down but realized that they would both take him to the same place eventually. He started down the red carpet of the right hallway, passing many wooden doors in the process.

Link reasoned that if the Four Sword room was here, it would be a room that stood out and he would be able to tell that it was the Four Sword room right away. His reasoning for this was that if the King ever needed to use the Four Sword room in an emergency, he would have to be able to quickly tell which room it was instantly because he would spend countless time looking for it otherwise. So Link felt that he'd know which room was the Four Sword room when he saw it.

The hallway came to an end and turned to the left. Link followed this turn, and was faced with another hallway. This hallway continued down in a straight line forward and was identical to the one he had just traversed, nothing but wooden doors on each side of the hall. Link reached the end of the hall and turned left again. When he got into the next stretch of the hallway, he immediately knew that he had reached the Four Sword door.

This stretch of the hallway only contained one door. This door was located in the middle of the wall on the right hand side of the hallway. It was at least twice as big as the other doors and was almost as big as the wall itself. Instead of the wooden brownish color of the other doors, it was a metallic gray color. Etched on the doors were four separate golden triforce marks. It was the Four Sword door alright.

Link took another look down the two hallways and when he saw that the road was clear, he crept up to the door. When he got to the door he grabbed the handle and before he opened it, he paused as doubt started to flood his mind. Should he really be doing this? There was obviously a mistake in the guarding assignments allowing him to get up on the stairs and up to the door. Maybe he should just get down to the ballroom before he caused any trouble.

And then again his curiosity was getting the better of him. He had heard so much about the Four Sword from his father and grandfather. His grandfather had been alive during the Vaati era and could serve as an eyewitness to the past Link's defeat of Vaati. Link's grandfather had told him many stories about that Link and the Four Sword when Link was a child. His grandfather thought that it was a shame that more people didn't know the story about the hero that had bested the Minish sorcerer. As Hyrule began to develop and grow, the story about the hero that had saved Hyrule from Vaati began to dissipate. The only ones who knew about the story were the ones who were alive during the time or the ones who had been told the story as Link was.

Link had made up his mind; he was going to go into the room. He opened the door and was met with a sight so magnificent he was surprised that his knees didn't give way. The Four Sword was sitting all alone in a small rectangular room with nothing in it except for a silver pedestal. The Four Sword was a long silver blade in a gold hilt. The hilt had a jewel at the bottom of it that was green, red, blue and purple along with black stripes towards the top of it. The sword seemed to be giving off a blue glow that made it seem very sacred.

Link was mesmerized by the blade. He closed the door behind him as softly as he could and walked up to the Four Sword. It was the most awe-inspiring sword that he had ever seen. As he got up close to it, he suddenly got the urge to hold it in his hands. Just once, he wanted to hold the legendary sword in his hands and pretend that he was the great hero of the past. He leaned over the pedestal and grabbed the hilt with his hands. He pulled the Four Sword out of the pedestal and held it high in his hands.

Once he had the Four Sword in his hands, he felt a weird sensation coming from them. Then a quick flash of light filled the room, blinding Link for a second. When Link opened his eyes, there were three other Links looking back at him, all with both their hands on the sword. They all had the same tunic that he had on except that they were red, blue and purple instead of the normal green that he wore. Link looked at the other Links and they stared right back at him.

"Ok this is a little too weird for me," Link said as he took the sword out from the other Link's hands and put it back in the pedestal. The three other Links disappeared as quickly as they had come. When he let go of the sword in the pedestal, he heard the door open. He whipped around quickly, his heart beating rapidly in his chest as he was afraid of who it would be. What would happen to him?

However the person in the middle of the doorway wasn't who he thought it would be. It was none other than Princess Zelda. She was standing with her hands on her hips and a frown on her face, mixed with a surprised expression.

"What are you doing in here Link? You could get caught and thrown in the prison!" Zelda asked.

"I just wanted to get a look at the Four Sword. I've heard so much about it and I guess I let that want cloud my judgment," Link answered. "You're not going to turn me in are you?" he added as he put on his best puppy dog face he could come up with. Zelda just laughed and her frown turned into a smile.

"No, of course not. But let's get out of here before any guards come along suspiciously," she replied. She then turned her back to Link and went through the door. Link let go a huge breath of relief, he had been so sure that he would have been busted. Breathing easy again, he followed Zelda out the door and into the hallway. Looking down both hallways, he saw that there were still no guards anywhere in the hallway. Not that it mattered since he was with Zelda, but he still found it interesting.

As he and Zelda started walking down the hallway, Link had a sudden thought.

"Zelda, how did you know I was here?" he asked. Zelda turned to look at Link with a mischievous smile.

"I just had a feeling. You seem like the kind of person who's really into anything dealing with swords or battle. When you didn't show up with Recht to the ballroom, I knew you'd be trying to look at the Four Sword. It's right up your alley," Zelda replied.

"I guess you're right. I must have been too predictable," Link replied with a smile. They both laughed and continued down their path to the stairs. When they reached the stairs, they saw two guards at the foot of them looking up at Link and Zelda.

"Are you alright Princess? One of the guards thought he heard someone sneaking around heading for the Four Sword room. We were just about to check it out," the guard on the left said.

"Yes I'm alright. Link and I here went to check it out but we didn't find anyone," Zelda responded.

"Alright then that's settled. I would suggest that you two get to the feast. The king is anxiously awaiting your arrival Princess."

"Will do," Zelda said and the two guards bowed and walked away.

"That was close. It's a good thing you got to me before they did. Thanks by the way," Link added, not wanting his gratitude to go unnoticed.

"No problem. Had they caught you, they would have thrown you in the jail that's underneath the first floor. I couldn't let that happen so I thought I'd get to you first. Anyway, let's get to the feast. You remembered your Royal Family invitation right?" Zelda asked.

"Um…I think so. Let me check my pockets," Link said even though he knew that it wouldn't be in there. He had been in such a rush to get to the Knighting Ceremony, he forgot all about the feast that would come afterwards and had left his invitation on the table of his house. He pulled out his pockets, showing Zelda that he had indeed forgotten his invitation.

"Link…Link…Link, what would you do without me? I guess I'm going to have to get you in myself," Zelda said with mock exasperation. Link made an apologetic face and the two of them headed down the hallway for the ballroom.

As the two of them walked down the hall, Link noticed that the walls were lined with pictures of previous kings. All the kings were part of one bloodline, stretching back decades, even to the times of the Hyrule that was attacked by Vaati. The Hyrule in those times was very young, having just been united. The King in those times was a very gullible and confused King who was very protective of his daughter. It was this foolishness that let him be completely overwhelmed by Vaati, even letting Vaati possess him at times.

At the end of the line of pictures was the King Gustalf, Hyrule's very first king. He was king before Hyrule was unified into the vast country that it is now. The areas surrounding Castle Town were vastly unknown areas before Gustalf came around and made them all part of the country. It is said that his spirit was a big help to the Link of old in defeating Vaati.

"Link, stop staring at the King of Hyrule pictures and hurry up! The feast is about to start!" Zelda pleaded. Link snapped out of his stupor and hurried over to where Zelda was standing. She was waiting for him with her arms crossed in front of the two double doors that led to the ballroom at the end of the huge circular ground floor. The ceiling was about fifty feet high and there were two more floors, each with many identical doors made out of wood.

Link and Zelda went through the twin doors to the ballroom and were greeted with a massive room that was not made of the same metallic gray stone that the rest of the castle was made of. This room was made of brown stone that gave the room a very lighthearted feeling. There were many torches lit about the room on the walls, illuminating the room so that it was very bright.

The atmosphere was very pleasant in general. Many people were already sitting down at tables and were enjoying conversing with the other people there. The ballroom was buzzing with conversation as everyone seemed to be having a good time. Nobody was out on the middle of the dance floor that stood in the middle of all the tables yet though. It was tradition that the entertainment would take place after the food.

Link could make out the Royal Family Section in the distance. It was the only section at the head of the dance floor with all the other tables scattered in front of ti. It was made of a big square table with a huge white tablecloth that had golden Triforces scattered all over it. He and Zelda started walking in the direction of the section, maneuvering through all the other tables. They crossed the dance floor and came to the section, however there were two guards blocking their way. The one on the left was carrying a scroll. When he and Zelda started to enter the section, the guards stopped them.

"Who is this person that is with you Zelda? Does he have an invitation?" the guard on the right said.

"Yes he does. However he left it back at his house. He should be on your list, his name is Link," Zelda said to the guard. The guard then scanned the list.

"Yeah his name is on the list. However how do I know that's really him?" the guard responded. Zelda raised her eyebrows and her smile turned into a scowl.

"Would I lie to you?" Zelda asked in an exasperated voice.

"No, but you have to understand Princess Zelda, that we cannot let this man in without an invitation. It's the rules," the guard on the right said. Zelda sighed a heavy, angry sigh.

"I say man let the lad in. We can't punish him for an unfortunate mishap. This is an occasion of fun and why ruin his?" said a voice from behind the guards. The guards turned around and saw the King of Hyrule, Phineas Iglacerous Hyrule standing behind them. The guards quickly bowed.

"We're sorry your majesty. We'll let Link through," said the guard on the right, still bowed on the floor. The two guards then moved aside, making room for Link and Zelda to walk through.

"Thanks your majesty," Link said with a thankful face.

"Not a problem dear boy. You and Zelda seem to be very friendly towards each other and any friend of Zelda's is a friend of mine," the King said waving his hand.

The Royal Family Section was one table that was arranged vertically. There were three seats on the right side of the table and four on the left. At the head of the table was a chair that was more extravagant than the rest. Link guessed that this seat belonged to the King. Five of the seven regular seats were already taken by people Link had never seen before. Zelda walked around the table and took a seat in the chair that was to the King's chair's right hand side. The only available seat now was the middle chair on the right hand side of the table. Link walked over to his seat and sat down. It didn't seem that the feast had started yet as there was no food on the plates.

"What a surprise, both of us having Royal Family Section family passes," the person to Link's right said. Looking to his right, he saw that it was Nascour.

"Nascour? You got a pass too?" Link asked surprised.

"Yes, I was invited by the King," Nascour replied, pulling out his invitation. Indeed it was the same type of letter that Link had received, only it was signed by the King "What about you?"

"I was invited by Princess Zelda," Link responded. Nascour was about to say something but looked to his right as eight chefs were coming up to the table.

The chefs came up to the table with plates of food and set them down in front of each recipient. To Link's surprise, a chef came up to his spot and set down a plate of food in front of him. On the plate was a steaming plate of steak.

"I'm sorry if it's not what you wanted. You weren't here so I didn't know what to get you. I thought that a simple steak would suffice," said Nascour.

"Are you kidding? I love steak!" Link answered enthusiastically. Steak was his favorite food. His mouth was starting to water just by looking at it.

"So, you're lucky that Princess Zelda was with you. Otherwise you would've been out of luck and her invitation would have been wasted," Nascour mentioned, starting up conversation.

"Yeah, lucky," Link answered. Only half of his attention was directed to Nascour as he was busy digging into his steak.

"One has to wonder though…What you two were doing alone that caused you to be late to the feast. Is there something going on that nobody knows about?" Nascour asked softly, testing the waters. Link put down his fork and knife, his attention now fully on Nascour. He also started to get a little nervous. Did Nascour know that he was in the Four Sword room?

"I mean, I'm sure the King would like to know if you're seeing his daughter and sneaking around the castle with her," Nascour continued. Link visibly relaxed. Nascour had assumed that he and Zelda were merely seeing each other in private.

"No, no it's nothing like that. Princess Zelda had merely heard a rumor that someone was sneaking around on the upper level of the castle. She wanted me to check it out with her," Link answered.

"Oh, I see," Nascour said with his hand under his chin as in deep thought.

"However that's not to say…" Link started saying as he moved in closer to Nascour and dropped his voice, clearly signaling that this was meant to be private. Nascour understood and moved in closer as well. Before Link continued, he looked over to where Zelda and the King were sitting. Both of them were deep in conversation so they wouldn't hear what he would tell Nascour. He looked back at Nascour and continued. "That I don't want there to be anything between us. Between you and me, I've had a crush on Princess Zelda for awhile." He didn't know why he was telling Nascour this, it was his deepest darkest secret. He had not even told Recht of his feelings for Princess Zelda. However lately he had been feeling that he had to tell someone otherwise he would burst. His confession seemed to pour right out of his mouth.

"I see," Nascour repeated, still looking to be in deep thought. Suddenly he smiled and closed his eyes as if he were laughing to himself. "If that's the case, why don't you ask her to dance when Meshtalita comes to perform?" Meshtalita was a band that had begun to become popular in Hyrule. They were a pretty soft tempo band that occasionally played fast songs. Their more popular songs however, were very slow which made them perfect dance songs.

"I could do that I suppose." Link said as he went back to his meal and Nascour did the same.

The rest of dinner passed without much happening, mainly just idle conversation between the people lucky enough to possess Royal Family passes. The more Link listened to conversation, it seemed that these people weren't lucky per say, just well connected. It turned out that everyone here knew the King in some way, often from school or business. Every year they are invited to the feast to sit in the Royal Family section. It turned out that this year, two of the King's friends couldn't make the trip, leaving two spots vacant at the table. The King and Zelda decided to split the invitations between themselves and invite one person each. The King had chosen Nascour and Zelda chose Link.

Interestingly, Link never heard an explanation of how the King knew Nascour. He had never even acknowledged that Nascour was here, never talked to him, mentioned his name, or even looked in his general direction. Link concluded that the King was too busy with Zelda and his other friends so he had just forgotten Nascour. Nascour didn't seem to mind, for the most part he kept to himself.

After the plates had been collected by the chefs, the King stood up and walked to a podium that was to the right side of the table. When he was standing at the podium, he pointed at his throat and said a couple of words under his breath, clearly a magic spell to make his voice louder. The entire hall became silent as they saw the King about to address his people.

"Everyone, what a great feast it was this year! Now give a warm welcome to tonight's entertainment Meshtalita!" The King called, clapping his hands. Everyone joined in and the members of Meshtalita went on stage and prepared to play. It was a group consisting of four members who wore raggedy clothes with numerous rips and tears. The band consisted of two guitarists, a bassist and a drumer. The rhythm guitarist appeared to be the lead singer as well and walked up to the podium and addressed the people.

"People of Hyrule thank you for having us here tonight! We'll do our best to give you a great show so sit back, relax and enjoy yourself!" called the lead singer. He went back to the other band members and strapped his guitar around his neck. The band then started playing a slow paced soothing melody. Once the song started being played, the dance floor became filled with people dancing.

The King came back over to the table but did not sit down in his chair.

"Friends, let us discuss our business elsewhere. It's going to get too noisy in here to concentrate," he said. All of his friends agreed and they got up and left the ballroom. Only Zelda, Link and Nascour were left at the table.

Link didn't even notice that Nascour was still there in the room however. He was focused on Zelda who was sitting in her chair and looked to be staring out into space. After a couple of seconds a major battle started to take place inside his head with his mind.

_Just ask her to dance!_

What if she says no?

_What if she says yes?_

I don't know if I want to take that chance…

_So you are content with being a coward?_

No, I don't want to be a coward

_Then ask her to dance!_

Link snapped out of his mental struggle and removed himself from his seat. Nascour, who was looking on, smiled. Link then walked around the table and came up to Princess Zelda. Zelda was looking in a different direction but when Link came in front of her, she looked at him.

"Would you like to dance?" he asked, straight to the point. Zelda looked mildly surprised but her smile did not fade from her face as she looked at him. Link's stomach was in knots, he would be sick if she didn't answer soon. Every second she didn't answer felt like an eternity.

"Sure. I'd like that," Zelda finally answered as she extended her arm. Link put his hand under her hand and she rose up from her seat. Still holding hands, he led Zelda to the dance floor. When the two of them got there, they settled into a spot and Zelda put her arms on top of Link's shoulders. Link responded by putting his hands on Zelda's waist. His heart was beating a mile a minute and it felt as if his palms were about to start sweating. He tried to control himself by taking a deep breath.

The deep breath worked a little bit, he was calmer and his palms didn't feel moist anymore. The two of them began to sway with the music and soon later, they were dancing. Feeling bold, Link picked up Zelda and spun her around before bringing her back down. Zelda was taken by surprise but giggled when she came back down. The two of them went on revolving around the spot with Link leading. Every once and a while, Link would twirl Zelda around with his arm as they would stay connected via Zelda's right arm and Link's left. Neither of them said anything, they merely stared intensely and passionately into the other's eyes.

"I'm sorry if I'm not the best dancer in the world," Link apologized, trying to break the tension that was starting to build between them.

"It doesn't matter. This is real nice. I didn't think anybody was going to ask me to dance," Zelda responded softly. Link's heart skipped a beat when she said it was nice. He was doing everything he could to fight his nervousness because he didn't want this moment to be ruined.

Link and Zelda continued dancing from one song to the next, both of them absorbed by the music and by each other's company. Midway through the third song, Zelda rested her head on Link's shoulder and seemed to be completely at peace. Link almost lost his breath at this action but he continued on dancing with her. Her head left when she was twirled or Link picked her up by the waste and spun her around, however when they went back to slow waltzing, her head returned to laying on his shoulder.

Link was starting to feel completely at peace. The more and more he and Zelda danced, the more comfortable he got being with her. It was not too long after that he forgot his nervousness, forgot everything around him but the beautiful princess he was dancing with. They were inseparable, both of them perfectly in tune with each other as if they were mirror images. Eventually people stopped and gazed at the two young dancers, amazed at the chemistry they seemed to have, all the while saying very little to each other. It appeared to them that they could read each other's minds and would do exactly what the other wanted them to. The two of them danced through every song and eventually the band stopped playing.

The King seemed to be back from meeting with his friends and had appeared at the podium again to say something. Link and Zelda, still entwined on the dance floor, looked up at him.

"Thank you all for a wonderful evening. I hope you all had as much fun as I did planning it. This ends the celebration, may you go…huh?" the King paused confused. Nascour had seemed to appear next to the king and seemed to be asking to say something. "Certainly dear boy, you can make an announcement," the King said jollily. Nascour thanked the king and stepped up to the podium. The King did the same spell on Nascour's throat that he did on his throat to make Nascour's voice more audible.

"Thank you your majesty. People of Hyrule, you may not know me so I feel that introductions are necessary. My name is Nascour and I shall be your new king."


End file.
